Entrepreneurship and strategy in the international SME

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have begun to play a critical role in international trade. Statistics from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and other sources indicate that SMEs now account for a very substantial proportion of exports from most industrialized nations. But very little is known about the effect of having an international entrepreneurial orientation, or the role of specific strategies associated with this construct, on the foreign performance of such firms. Using data from an empirical study of SMEs, we devise a structural model that reveals the role of international entrepreneurial orientation, key strategic activities, and the collective effect of these constructs on the international performance of the modern, international SME. These findings and their implications for scholars and managers are discussed.